As the characters relax in a Daggerford inn on a foggy night, a strange Vistani man strolls in. He hands the characters a letter, tells them to come to Barovia the next morning, buys each of them a round of drinks, and vanishes. The letter states that the Burgomaster of a town called Barovia, wants them to come save his daughter, Ireena, who has been cursed by some nameless evil. The characters make plans to leave the next day.

After a few hours of walking, the characters arrive at the edge of the Misty Forest, where, as they enter, they are engulfed by the mists. A moment later, they are in another forest, where the trees are tall and twisted and the wind screams through the branches. They are on the Demiplane of Dread. They are in Barovia.

They walk for another half hour and come to a massive iron gate, with two headless statues flanking it. The gate swings open of its own accord, as if welcoming the characters. They walk on, when suddenly Alen smells death. Half the party walks into the woods and find a messenger's corpse, clutching a letter. He has been killed by wolves. The letter is by the same person, but in a different hand. It says that Ireena has been bitten by a vampire, who rules tyrannically over the valley. It also says that the characters shouldn't come and should stay out.

Upon leaving the clearing, Jet spots a raven watching the party. As he raises his bow, the raven turns into a human, yelling at him to not shoot. His name is Alek, he is a wereraven, and he works for the "Keepers of the Feather". He offers to take the characters safely to the village of Barovia.

The characters arrive in Barovia an hour and a half later, where, as Alek leads them into the town, they hear a child sobbing.